UK Becomes First Major Market for Eli Lilly's Mounjaro Prefilled Pen For Tackling Obesity

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly And Co LLY is set to launch its highly-anticipated obesity drug, Mounjaro (tirzepatide), in Britain this week, making the U.K. the fourth European country to introduce the famed medication. 

The drug, also approved for diabetes treatment, is expected to address the pressing issue of obesity, with nearly one in three adults in Britain classified as obese, the highest rate in Europe.

Superdrug announced Wednesday that eligible private patients could obtain Mounjaro prescriptions through its Online Doctor service starting Thursday. 

Related Content: Eli Lilly’s Weight Loss Drug Tirzepatide Is Expanding Market Share, Analyst Outlines What Lies Ahead.

Despite this, the retail chain prioritized National Health Service (NHS) patients, considering the anticipated high demand, drawing parallels with the popularity of Novo Nordisk A/S’s NVO rival weight-loss drug, Wegovy, introduced in the UK last year.

Britain’s Simple Online Pharmacy, another key player in the pharmacy landscape, reported the commencement of Mounjaro prescriptions on Tuesday. 

Citing a spokesperson from Simple, Reuters highlighted the broad availability of Mounjaro across all pharmacies in the UK, which is accessible to both NHS and private patients.

Simple has a waitlist of over 80,000 patients seeking a weight-loss treatment, the spokesperson added.

In January, The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved a four-dose version of the diabetes and weight management medicine Mounjaro.

Britain became the first major market to receive Mounjaro in the new pen, known as Kwikpen, which is capable of delivering four weekly subcutaneous shots.

While Germany, Switzerland, and Poland have already witnessed the launch of Mounjaro, the U.K. market eagerly anticipates this development. 

Unlike these countries, where the drug is packaged in vials, the British market will benefit from the convenience of the pre-filled injection pen.

Superdrug and Simple have revealed the pricing details for Mounjaro in the UK. A 4-week course at 2.5 milligrams and 5 mg starter doses will be available for private patients at £215 ($270) and £189, respectively.

LLY Stock Prediction For 2030

Predicting the future in stock prices over long periods of time is challenging. Wall Street analysts use complex models that take into account interest rates, economic growth, competitive advantages, management teams and historical profitability, among a host of other factors.

If, as an investor, you want to assume most of the major factors remain stable, you can use trend analysis as a helpful tool. Using a longer term trend line or historical performance of the stock, you can aim to forecast a stock's annual rate of return.

For Eli Lilly, over the past 5 years, its annualized stock performance is 46.28%, and if you assume that trend continues for another 5 years, you can expect a stock to trade at $5070.75.

Using a trend line (see how to perform this function here), If you choose to use a trend line, connect your two points and look into the future to the point in time in which you're curious. Once you've identified that stock price, you may want to consider what type of conditions would need to exist for the stock to justify the share price – be it an outside influence or managerial decision making.

Price Action: LLY shares are up 0.67% at $762.41 on the last check Thursday.

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